Friedrich II
by Okami Tabor
Summary: Prussia finds that there is more to his new king than meets the eye. Friedrich II is becoming more than just the ascending heir to the thrown; he is providing a challenge for the nation and for the kingdom.


Author: Okami Tabor

Title: Friedrich II

Summary: Prussia finds that there is more to his new king than meets the eye. Friedrich II is becoming more than just the ascending heir to the thrown; he is providing a challenge for the nation and for the kingdom.

Rating and Warning: M for future chapters with sexual themes, but relatively a moderate T rating for now. Some historical allusions will be interjected into the plot as best as possible, but errors can occur. Fritz X Prussia.

Notes: This will be a continuing series entailing the life of Friedrich II with historical references and romantic themes. It will start with the beginning of the king's birth all the way to his death with Prussia at his side through every step of the way. It's an idea that's been irking me since forever, and I felt it needed to be posted for other fellow Fritz X Prussia fans, as there is very little on this wonderful pairing. Read and enjoy, and if you wish, review.

**Chapter One: The Coming of a New King-**

_January 24, 1712 _

Sweat coursed down the woman's body as she uttered a painful cry and pleaded for a nearby woman to aid her. This was not her first time suffering, and for the sake of the kingdom, probably not her last. With shallow, labored breaths, she tried to ease her burden with slight contortions of the body and savage utterances to the deities above. A high-pitched shriek escaped her throat in high octaves. It effectively expressed her duress and pain, but it also startled the men standing outside her bedroom door.

Outside the room filled with hustling attendants and a bedridden soon-to-be-mother, a man paced nervously as his partner stood calmly by. The calmer male held an air of serenity, if only for outer appearances, he seemed aloof and unfazed by the occurrence, but on the inside his mind was in turmoil. Each cry made his body jolt with alarm, but he easily suppressed the urge to rush into the room containing the screams. The pacing male displayed the more anxious mood that his companion tried to conceal under his façade and he blatantly displayed his horror at every painful utterance he heard. This male continued to stalk about the outer room, pacing in much the fashion as an eager hound at the door of his master, waiting impatiently for the door to be opened.

"Gilbert," the calmer male commenced after a few minutes of watching his friend amble about in a nervous fashion riddled with torturous pessimism. Gilbert paused in mid step, his back turned to the other. "She will be fine." That was all he said, and Gilbert smiled with trembling lips. Of course she was. Of course Sophia was fine, she was, after all, his queen. A fine bloodline of the House of Hanover, and his beloved _Olympia_, Sophia bore the sole duty of continuing the derivation of the Prussian rulers. She had failed to consummate a son prior to her current pregnancy, but now, if the gods willed it, she would bear a son—and a new king to the thrown. She had to be fine for the sake of the nation!

One more cry of agony and a series of pants followed, then another cry. A child's first breath and Gilbert's last heart attack of the day (hopefully). A wave of relief flooded his body with such force that he had to lean against a nearby wall to support his trembling limbs.

_I can fight an army and legions of men, but I can never recover from the trials of a queen bearing sons and daughters!_ The platinum blond mentally chastised himself.

As Gilbert thought this, he failed to note a woman approach him, but her soft voice jolted him out of his reverie in much the manner as it galvanized his partner. In a soft voice, the woman merely said, "Her Majesty, The Queen in Prussia implores you gentlemen to attend to see the new heir to the throne." With a small bow and respectful gesture, the stout woman allowed the men through a door to view the new child and to check on the queen's condition. When the men entered the room, they were greeted by an enthusiastic, albeit exhausted, Sophia cradling her new child. In a rare show of compassion and tenderness, Friedrich William walked up to his wife and held her and the child in a warm embrace, welcoming his first son into the world.

Gilbert stood behind the pair; smiling at how delicate this new child was enveloped in his parent's arms and at how philanthropic his king was acting, despite his infamy in assaulting others with enraged and sporadic means of abuse and violence. The soft titter that erupted from his throat reminded the rulers of his presence, giving Sophia the cue to allow the silver-haired man to approach.

"A new king for our Kingdom of Prussia. I hope he is to your liking, Prussia." Sophia smiled softly, a maternal façade enveloping her features. The nation gave an appreciating look over of the tiny infant, inspecting him with bright crimson orbs full of hope and wonderment. Surely a fine king to be, the nation surmised— if Prussia was a judge of young men, and he was, as evident by his prior predictions of past to-be kings and princes.

"Of course, milady. You have made your nation proud." Returning the smile to his beloved queen the man held his gaze to the newborn and a wave of pride washed over him once more.

"Would it please you to hold him?" Sophia offered softly, surprising the nation momentarily before he blurted out, "Of course!" He could not explain why he abruptly said this, but something about the child nagged at his heart, possibly reminding him of his little brother in his youth. The queen smiled more as she delicately handed her child to the soldier, the platinum blond gingerly taking the infant into his arms as the woman instructed, holding the boy close to his chest. If ever a time came for the Prussian to openly express his inner paternal instincts, this boy would most likely be the source for such an evocation. He had never held any of his monarch's children before, but somehow it came naturally to him, as it had for him to wield a sword, despite his lack of experience. He scoffed softly at the idea with mild amusement, earning both his king and queen's interest.

"Sophia," the man finally addressed his queen after a moment of thinking. "He will make a grand king. I eagerly await his ascendance." He then turned his gaze to Friedrich, "He shall walk in your legacy, your majesty. You should feel honored to have sired such a fine child." Despite himself, the king puffed with visible pride, his gaze stern and thoughtful. "And his name." Crimson eyes returned to the boy, his eyes still sealed, oblivious to his impending future.

Sophia glanced at her husband and the two seemed to share a single thought, which Friedrich vocalized for them, "Friedrich William, the Second of course."

"Friedrich II, huh?" The Prussian muttered with amusement. "I can't wait to see what will become of you."

* * *

A loud clatter echoed against the castle walls upon Prussia's entrance. He had hopes of relaying to his king the successful training exercise of the evening, but instead the sight of the man reverting to his bitter ways and screaming greeted him. He could not conceal the smile that crept along his lips as he found the source of his king's irritation. Two children giggled in front of the man, mocking him in their childish dialect and tallying up on the scoreboard for a new wave of fury. Friedrich was irate at the display, and at the center of it all was his young son, Friedrich II standing beside his sister.

"That boy," Gilbert muttered with interest, his head shaking in wonderment at the boy's taunting. "And to think, just days ago the boy's father scared the living daylights out of him if he so much as raised his voice a single pitch." He bent his head down to keep the first wave of rumbling laughter in check, lest his king take his anger out on him for not intervening in the situation. That man always found someone as an outlet of his pent up frustration, and neither man nor woman could escape his capricious wrath. For one thing, Gilbert did not want to be on the receiving end of such vehemence. He ambled into the contiguous room, making certain that his boots were audible over the collection of chortling and shouting vulgarities.

"My liege, it will please you to know," the pale blonde commenced vocally, causing a pause to fall over both conflicting parties. Taking note of this, he continued, unabashed by the sudden change, "That our men are well suited for combat and are thirsting for a new chance to sharpen their blades and their wit."

The king could not hide his scowl at the remembrance of telling his nation to stay hidden and out of sight for Friedrich II. A custom had started centuries past dictating the complete and utter secrecy of Prussia's true identity from upcoming heirs. The tradition was losing its charm in the nation's eyes, for he could not deny the gravitational forces that brought him back to his newest addition to the royal family. Unable to deny this fact, crimson eyes immediately swept over the now quite boy, who in turn, studied him with great attentiveness. _Who was this man with a young face and aged silver hair?_ Still tradition never said that he could not reveal _himself_ rather than his country identity.

Taking note of the interest from both his nation and son, William Friedrich sent his children along with a chastising tone for behavior and a quick gesture for their removal from the premise. The children obeyed, but Friedrich II continued to linger to look on with curiosity in his deep blue orbs. The soldier returned the gesture with a kind grin and nod. The boy did not seem to find his curiosity quenched but followed his sister upon further coaxing on a chance to play outside the castle. He disappeared and minutes later, in his stead, were the echoes of childish ebullience and laughter outside the window.

"Gilbert…" A disapproving grumble snapped the pale blonde's attention back to his ruler. "I thought I told you to stay out of view."

"What? With how awesome a nation I am?" The man bantered playfully, knowing very well that a lecture was in store for him.

"I do wish you would conceal yourself more thoroughly and maintain an air of devote obscurity and clandestine manner."

"Rest at ease, milord, I have not let my tongue slip, and this is his first time encountering me." Gilbert tried to ease the other's mind, but was grateful that he only found the man irritated and not furious as he had been. "And besides, I did not expect the young lord to be in your presence. I merely wished to convey a simple message before parting back to my men for further training." With a roll of stiff shoulders, Gilbert shrugged off any accusations that might have gathered around him.

"Well, don't let it happen again." The old king bitterly grunted. "You have done a splendid job for the day, go rest. Leave the men to me."

Nodding respectfully, Gilbert turned around, coat flicking behind his legs as he left the room. The door closed with a rustic squeak and the milky white skinned man vanished from view, leaving the king to scowled at the floor in thought.

* * *

"Hey, Friedrich, what's wrong?" Wilhelmina queried as she noted how distracted her brother had become recently. Concern ebbed at the edge of her voice as she found her brother staring back at the very room they had been asked to leave when a strange man appeared. The little girl thought nothing of the soldier, by now used to the comings and going of every person within the castle to mark the appearance off as just another figure, but her brother certainly found something noteworthy of the man.

"Hm?" The brunette hummed distractedly, eyes finally leaving the window to look back upon his sibling. "Huh? I'm sorry, Wilhelmina, I was pondering something."

"You seem troubled. Are you feeling well?"

"Oh, y-yes, of course, I'm just…It's just that man…he had these blood red eyes—like some kinda monster or something. And did you see his hair? It looked like an elderly man's, and not those powdered wigs, either. But his face was younger than father's."

"You're obsessed," the girl concluded amusingly.

"I can't help it!" The boy shouted, affronted, quick to defend himself from such accusations.

The children's mild quarrel reached the Prussian's ears upon his advancement, and stalking about with more secrecy than last time, the man crept against the side of the castle wall so as not to draw any attention, (and to prevent his prior fiasco from repeating), to peer at the pair.

"I don't know," the boy continued ambivalently, his mind coming up with a multitude of hypotheses to explain the existence of such a peculiar man.

"Well, lay your mind at rest for now. Whoever he was, he saved us from certain impending violence." Wilhelmina conceded with a soft mirthful chuckle. Her brother eyed her for a moment before redirecting his bewildered gaze back at the castle windows. That man was no ordinary human that much Friedrich II surmised before returning a stare to his beloved sibling.

"What do you want to play now?" He queried as a means of changing topic, an ingenuous beam plastered to his face with childish enthusiasm to dispel Wilhelmina's recurring concerns.

Prussia examined the sudden change in countenance from the youth and grinned. If this was not the finest of royal children he ever laid eyes on, then he was not fit to be a nation.


End file.
